Abstract
Millions of people suffer from Musculoskeletal System Disorders (MSDs), including Karen people who work hard in the fields for their subsistence and have done so for generations. This has forced the Karen to use many medicinal plants to treat MSDs. We gathered data from 15 original references covering 27 Karen communities and we document 461 reports of the use of 175 species for treating MSDs among the Karen people in Thailand. The data were analyzed by calculating use values (UV), relative frequency of citation (RFC) and informant consensus factor (ICF). Many use reports and species were from Leguminosae and Zingiberaceae. Roots and leaves were the most used parts, while the preferred preparation methods were decoction and burning. Oral ingestion was the most common form of administration. The most common ailment was muscle pain. Sambucus javanica and Plantago major were the most important species because they had the highest and second-highest values for both UV and RFC, respectively. This study revealed that the Karen people in Thailand use various medicinal plants to treat MSDs. These are the main resources for the further development of inexpensive treatments of MSDs that would benefit not only the Karen, but all people who suffer from MSD.
Highlights
Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is transferred from generation to generation in local communities [1]
These plants make up 30% of all medicinal plant species in Thailand, when compared with the review of ethnobotanical knowledge about medicinal plants to treat Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in Thailand [33]
We found 175 medicinal plant species belonging to 144 genera and
Summary
Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is transferred from generation to generation in local communities [1]. Plants are used over a lifetime from birth to death [2]. Modern medicines are much used everywhere around the world, traditional medicines are still important to many people, especially among ethnic minority groups [3,4] and in developing countries [5,6,7,8]. The uses of medicinal plants are still popular because they are inexpensive, easy to use, and they have limited side effects compared to modern medicines [11]. More than 1.7 billion people throughout the world suffer from these ailments, causing both disability and death [13].
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